A system for functionally testing a driver assistance system is known from DE 10 2007 035 474 B4, for example. The vehicle, to which the driver assistance system to be tested is assigned, can be moved on a test track and receives and processes information relating to the surroundings of the vehicle. The system further comprises at least one rigid dummy object, which, in order to simulate a real traffic situation, can be displaced on the test track such that it is at least temporarily located in the surrounding area which can be detected by the driver assistance system. The dummy object, which can be moved separately from the vehicle and independent of the movement of the vehicle, is arranged on a rail device, so that a mechanically stable attachment of the dummy object is ensured and a guided displacement of the dummy object is possible in a reversible and reproducible manner.
A system for simulating collisions of a dummy object with a motor vehicle is known from US 2005/0155441 A1. The dummy object, which is suspended by ropes on a rail system and which can be displaced in a movement transversely to the driving direction of the approaching motor vehicle, imitates a human body and comprises a head, a neck, a trunk as well as arms and legs. A skeleton made of wood is located on the interior thereof.
DE 10 2008 025 539 A1 discloses a testing device for a pedestrian protection system in a motor vehicle, which moves along a route. Provision is made for a dummy object, which simulates a pedestrian and which can be displaced transversely to the route of the motor vehicle. The dummy object is substantially embodied so as to be two-dimensional and comprises a trunk, two legs and at least one arm. At least one of the two legs and/or at least one of the arms can be moved relative to the trunk by means of an actuating element via ropes and/or via connecting rods. The legs and at least the one provided arm are thereby movably supported on the trunk in the form of a string puppet, so that the arms as well as the legs can be displaced forwards and backwards into a pivot motion. The trunk, the arms and the legs are made of plastic plates, which comprises a thickness of approximately 3 mm, and are coated with foam on the side, which faces the vehicle.
The movement behaviour of pedestrians in traffic, however, is much more complex. In principle, three types of basic movements can be observed, namely walking, running and racing. Walking is that type of movement, which can be found most frequently in traffic. Thereby, one foot always touches the ground, the other foot touches down before the body does, the limbs are approximately stretched and the upper part of the body remains substantially straight. When running, both feet are without contact to the ground for a short period of time and the step size is larger than when walking. For the most part, the one foot touches down directly below the body, the upper part of the body remains straight for the most part or leans slightly forward. The velocity can be constant for a longer period of time. Running children, who are initially covered by an object, for example a parked vehicle, can very frequently be found in traffic. In the case of the third type of movement, the racing, the velocity can only be maintained for a relatively short period of time. The feet lose contact with the ground and touch down with the ball of the foot below the body, the step size is very large, the upper part of the body clearly displaces forward considerably.
In the case of active driver assistance systems, which either warn the passengers of dangerous situations or which intervene in the driving process independently, it is necessary to test the functional reliability thereof by means of suitable methods using dummy objects. Testing methods and dummy objects are required, which reflect the corresponding traffic situations, which can occur, as realistically as possible. In the case of recognizing pedestrians, the detection process is typically carried out in two steps. In the case of the initial detection, it is important that all pedestrians in the relevant surrounding area are detected, if possible. It is accepted thereby that objects are also detected incorrectly as possible pedestrians. In the case of the second step, the classification, the detected objects are classified as pedestrians or as nonpedestrians. For classification purposes, time-dependent features of the detected objects, such as leg movements, for example, are used for the allocation. When re-creating a simple pedestrian crossing, the viewing angle thereof can change by up to 60° due to the approach of the vehicle in the event that two-dimensional test objects, as are known from DE 10 2008 025 539 A1, for example, are now used as dummy objects. A two-dimensional object would thereby merge from a contour, which only describes the silhouette, into a line contour. This would lead to incorrect data in response to the development and testing of driver assistance systems.